UN / GAZA HIGH LEVEL MEETING
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: UN / GAZA HIGH LEVEL MEETING
TRT: 07:04
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / FRENCH / RUSSIAN / NATS
DATELINE: 23 JANUARY 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN Headquarters
23 JANUARY 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Med shot, Secretary-General António Guterres and France Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné
4. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“No effective humanitarian aid operation can function under the conditions that have been forced on Palestinians in Gaza and those doing everything possible to help them. The quantity of aid is highly insufficient in light of needs. It is fantasy to think that 2.2 million people can survive on aid alone. Basic commodities from the private sector must enter in meaningful quantities -- as they did for many years before the current fighting. This is essential to address rising needs and avert both a complete breakdown and ever-mounting death toll.”
5. Wide shot, Council
6. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“I urge all parties to step back from the brink and to consider the horrendous human cost of a regional conflict. Beyond the need for immediate de-escalation, each situation demands the implementation of a clear political roadmap that would contribute to long-term regional stability.”
7. Med shot, Russia, Sierra Leone and Palestine Foreign Ministers
8. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Last week’s clear and repeated rejection of the two-State solution at the highest levels of the Israeli government is unacceptable. And this was despite the strongest appeals from even the friends of Israel, including those sitting around this table. This refusal, and the denial of the right to statehood to the Palestinian people, would indefinitely prolong a conflict that has become a major threat to global peace and security. It would exacerbate polarization and embolden extremists everywhere. The right of the Palestinian people to build their own fully independent state must be recognized by all. And any refusal to accept the two-State solution by any party must be firmly rejected.”
9. Med shot, Palestine Foreign Minister Riyad Al Maliki speaking
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad Al Maliki, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Palestine:
“For the leaders at the helm in Israel, the Palestinian people are a people to many. They deny their existence, their rights, their humanity, whether in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, or the Palestinian refugees, or the personal prisoners. They do not see our people as an empirical and political reality to coexist with, but as a demographic threat to get rid of through death, displacement, or subjugation. These are the choices they offer us, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or apartheid. I know some here are uncomfortable with these words, but they are the reality that we live under, and trust me, you should be much more concerned with the existence of that reality than the words used to describe it.”
11. Med shot, Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan speaking
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Gilad Erdan, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Israel:
“As long as Hamas remains in power, a very dark future is inevitable for all of us. How can you call for a ceasefire and mention a solution to the conflict at the same time? This is a complete oxymoron. You cannot have both, it's impossible. Hamas seeks to annihilate Israel and if you support the position that we leave Hamas in power, you cannot pretend to wish for a solution to the conflict.”
13. Med shot, Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan at the dais
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Gilad Erdan, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Israel:
“The person directly responsible for the terror attacks throughout the region for this spill over since October 7will be sitting here soon. Minister Abdollahiyan represents the regime that arms and instructs Hizballah to target our civilians. He represents the regime that transfer weapons and intelligence to the Houthis. Without Iran, the Houthis would not have advanced cruise missiles or UAVs to target merchant vessels in the Red Sea.”
15. Med shot, Switzerland, UK and US officials
16. SOUNDBITE (French) Stéphane Séjourné, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, France:
“I must say to Israel, which understands the friendship with the French people, that there must be a Palestinian state, that violence towards the Palestinian people, particularly that committed by extremist settlers must end and that international law applies to everyone. And I'd like to say to the Palestinian representatives that they understand France's historic commitment to a Palestinian state, and that we will continue to fight against terrorism firmly and with determination. There can be no ambiguity regarding Israel's right to live in peace and security and to exercise its right to self-defence against terrorists.”
17. Med shot, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the dais
18. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Sergey Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Russian Federation:
“To date, the Council has not managed to mount an appropriate response to this truly fateful challenge. And we know the reason it's the position of the US. The US has blocked all efforts and initiatives geared towards ending the bloodshed on occupied territory. What's shocking is just how widely American diplomacy is. It oscillates between vetoing resolutions for a ceasefire and calling at the same time for a reduction in the intensity of hostilities in Gaza. Without a doubt this serves as carte blanche for the ongoing collective punishment of Palestinians.”
19. Wide shot, Council
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Uzra Zeya, Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, United States:
“The United States has repeatedly warned Iran and its proxies not to engage in opportunistic attacks that risk instigating a wider conflict. We condemn Iran's attacks on locations in Iraq and Pakistan, which harmed and killed civilians. We also condemned the Houthis attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, which resolution 2722 rightly demanded must cease. We know that without Iran support, the Houthis would struggle to track and strike commercial vessels. We seek a diplomatic solution along the blue line that would allow civilians in Israel and Lebanon to return home.”
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Hossein Amir-Abdollahiyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Islamic Republic of Iran:
“The United State repeatedly expresses its grave concern about this spill over of tension in the region, and yet continues its full support to the Israeli regime war machine and even violates the sovereignty of Yemen and expands the scope of the conflict. The United States must bear the responsibility for its consequences.”
22. Wide shot, end of meeting
Secretary-General António Guterres today (23 Jan) told the Security Council that “any refusal to accept the two-State solution by any party must be firmly rejected.”
The Secretary-General, addressing a High-Level meeting of the Council on Gaza said, “no effective humanitarian aid operation can function under the conditions that have been forced on Palestinians in Gaza and those doing everything possible to help them.”
He said it was “fantasy to think that 2.2 million people can survive on aid alone,” adding that “basic commodities from the private sector must enter in meaningful quantities -- as they did for many years before the current fighting,” as this is “essential to address rising needs and avert both a complete breakdown and ever-mounting death toll.”
Guterres urged all parties “to step back from the brink and to consider the horrendous human cost of a regional conflict.”
He said, “last week’s clear and repeated rejection of the two-State solution at the highest levels of the Israeli government is unacceptable,” and added that “this refusal, and the denial of the right to statehood to the Palestinian people, would indefinitely prolong a conflict that has become a major threat to global peace and security,” and “would exacerbate polarization and embolden extremists everywhere.”
The Secretary-General insisted that “the right of the Palestinian people to build their own fully independent state must be recognized by all.”
In his Address to the Council, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al Maliki said, “for the leaders at the helm in Israel, the Palestinian people are a people to many. They deny their existence, their rights, their humanity, whether in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, or the Palestinian refugees, or the personal prisoners.”
Al Maliki said, “they do not see our people as an empirical and political reality to coexist with, but as a demographic threat to get rid of through death, displacement, or subjugation. These are the choices they offer us, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or apartheid.”
Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan said, “as long as Hamas remains in power, a very dark future is inevitable for all of us.”
Erdan said, “Hamas seeks to annihilate Israel and if you support the position that we leave Hamas in power, you cannot pretend to wish for a solution to the conflict.”
He said Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahiyan “represents the regime that arms and instructs Hizballah to target our civilians. He represents the regime that transfer weapons and intelligence to the Houthis.”
Without Iran, Erdan said, “the Houthis would not have advanced cruise missiles or UAVs to target merchant vessels in the Red Sea.”
French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné, who presided today’s meeting of the Council, said, “I must say to Israel, which understands the friendship with the French people, that there must be a Palestinian state, that violence towards the Palestinian people, particularly that committed by extremist settlers must end and that international law applies to everyone. And I'd like to say to the Palestinian representatives that they understand France's historic commitment to a Palestinian state, and that we will continue to fight against terrorism firmly and with determination. There can be no ambiguity regarding Israel's right to live in peace and security and to exercise its right to self-defence against terrorists.”
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the United States “has blocked all efforts and initiatives geared towards ending the bloodshed on occupied territory.”
Lavrov said, “what's shocking is just how widely American diplomacy is. It oscillates between vetoing resolutions for a ceasefire and calling at the same time for a reduction in the intensity of hostilities in Gaza. Without a doubt this serves as carte blanche for the ongoing collective punishment of Palestinians.”
The United States’ Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Uzra Zeya, told the Council that the US “has repeatedly warned Iran and its proxies not to engage in opportunistic attacks that risk instigating a wider conflict.”
She condemned “Iran's attacks on locations in Iraq and Pakistan, which harmed and killed civilians” as well as “the Houthis attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea” and said, “without Iran support, the Houthis would struggle to track and strike commercial vessels.”
Abdollahiyan, for his part said, “the United State repeatedly expresses its grave concern about this spill over of tension in the region, and yet continues its full support to the Israeli regime war machine and even violates the sovereignty of Yemen and expands the scope of the conflict. The United States must bear the responsibility for its consequences.”